Wednesday morning at the Aquinnah Cliffside Overlook Hotel, Kelli did a final look-through of Sandra’s resume to see that she had sufficient training in hotel management and past experience to allow Kelli to make her a sort of middle-manager. She then called both Piper and Sandra into her office to happily announce that she wanted to give them both promotions.
Across the desk, Piper and Sandra sat with beautiful, twenty-something smiles, both eager to move up the ranks at this brand-new, exclusive hotel.
“Are you serious?” Sandra leaned forward in her chair, genuinely shocked.
“I accept,” Piper said firmly.
“You both need to get better at this side of business. What should you have asked me first?” Kelli asked.
Piper and Sandra eyed one another, confused.
“The money!” Kelli said. “You should have asked me what the raise was going to be.”
“Oh!” Sandra laughed. “Gosh. I don’t know. It feels a little forward, doesn’t it?”
“As women, we shouldn’t be afraid to ask for what we’re worth,” Kelli said, paraphrasing an article she’d just read about “women in business” from The Atlantic. “I’ve just told both of you that I want to move you up the ranks.” Kelli waited for one of them to say a number, anything to indicate what they required monetarily for this new role, but neither of them knew what to say.
Kelli understood this very well. She’d spent most of her life thinking she wasn’t worth anything: not a very good salary, nor a kind, romantic partner. Xander had helped with both.
Eventually, Kelli told both Piper and Sandra what she’d been considering for their pay raises, and both of them leaped at it, genuinely over the moon. Afterward, Kelli outlined the responsibilities she felt each would excel at, dividing them up to allow herself more hours of shut-eye, more time with her kids, and more of a romantic and free life with Xander. She was in charge of the hotel, of course, but she didn’t want to go full Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
Before Kelli finished, she reached into her pocket to find the second master key, which she handed off to Piper. “I’ll give this to you, Piper. Sandra, if you don’t mind, I’ll have a new one made for you by next week.”
“Of course not,” Sandra said with a smile as Piper pocketed the key.
“We’ll get better at asking for raises later on,” Piper joked as they stood to return to their responsibilities. “Especially as our confidence here at the hotel grows.” She winked, and Kelli laughed, genuinely grateful for Piper’s peppy mood and great sense of humor.
“Thank you so much,” Sandra said, lingering by the door for a moment. “I never could have imagined how much Martha’s Vineyard would change my life.”
Kelli smiled to herself for the rest of the morning, relaxing into her life at the hotel now that she’d handed out her responsibilities. When Xander called her around noon to ask if she had plans for dinner, she said, “I don’t!”
Xander suggested that he meet her at the hotel around seven-thirty for dinner. Kelli was pleased. It had been a while since she’d been able to sit in that immaculate ballroom and genuinely appreciate the glorious old place. For nearly two years, she’d romanticized her grandmother’s love for her grandfather, there in the walls of that old hotel, and now, she wanted to pretend to live that love.
Before dinner, Kelli dressed into a beautiful black dress that was cut slightly lower over her chest than most she braved to wear, then did her makeup carefully. She knew that tonight, all eyes of staff and guests would be upon her and Xander, as they knew that Xander and Kelli owned and operated the hotel together. They were a power couple. They were having dinner there to support the hotel, in a way, as though they were movie stars who needed to promote their recent film.
Kelli had never done anything to be seen before. It wasn’t really in her nature. But with Xander’s gorgeous suits and Kelli’s newfound success in the hotelier world, she saw no reason not to try it. Maybe it would be fun. Maybe it would be like acting.
Xander met Kelli in the foyer of the hotel and wrapped his arms around her lower back. There, in the echoing foyer lined with mahogany wood and stylish paintings, Xander kissed Kelli with his eyes closed. Kelli couldn’t tell if this was an act or genuine— if he wanted to prove his love to her in front of so many, or if he just genuinely felt that love in his soul.
“That was something,” Kelli said as the kiss broke.
Xander laughed. “Should I wait for those kinds of kisses till we get home?”
“Not necessarily.”
Kelli and Xander walked toward the dining room, where the host greeted them and led them to the owners’ table. Naturally, the owners’ table had the best view of both the ballroom and the cliffs outside and had been set with the finest china and the whitest tablecloth. When Kelli and Xander didn’t plan on eating at the restaurant, the dining table was always empty, just in case they popped in for a surprise dinner. “That,” Xander had said once, “is what you want from owning a hotel. Isn’t it?”
The host lit the candle between Kelli and Xander and took their wine order— the very best red they had in the cellar.
“We’re celebrating,” Xander said mischievously as the host hurried away.
“What are we celebrating?”
“We’re celebrating your first free time of the week,” Xander said, as though that was obvious. “I couldn’t help but see the fresh fish they brought in this morning— salmon and sea bass and octopus. It looked delicious. I think we should order as many dishes as we can until we’re stuffed. What do you think?”
Kelli could do nothing but follow the night. Tiny plates featuring the delectable dishes cooked up by Chef Billiard and his team came to their table, one after another, in a stream of flavor and inventive pairings. Throughout, Xander and Kelli talked easily, swapped jokes, and glowed with impossible joy.
Just after the salmon dish arrived at the table, and Kelli’s head swam with delectable wine, two police officers appeared in the doorway to the restaurant. Immediately, Kelli sobered up, straightening her spine as she rose.
“What’s up?” Xander turned to follow her gaze as Kelli’s heart pounded.
Terribly, her first thought was of Mike, her ex-husband. How could he have possibly hurt her again? How could she have allowed that? But Mike was miles away from the hotel, away from the island, in prison for stealing funds from the town of Oak Bluffs. He couldn’t hurt her all the way out here. Could he?
“I’m going to talk to them,” Kelli said. “Eat the salmon.”
“Not without you,” Xander assured her and leaped to his feet, following her across the ballroom to greet the officers.
“Evening, Kelli.” Bobby, the first officer, stepped back to lead Kelli deeper into the foyer.
“Evening,” Kelli said. “Bobby. Tristan. What’s this about?”
“Why don’t we step into your office?” Bobby suggested. “It’s a delicate matter.”
Kelli’s heart pounded. Xander paused for a moment to tell the host that they needed to leave their table and to return the salmon to the kitchen for the time being. Afterward, Kelli and Xander led the officers to the back staircase, which they took to Kelli’s office.
“I hope everything’s okay?” Kelli sounded timid as she rounded her desk and sat. Xander remained standing beside her.
Bobby and Tristan shifted uneasily in front of them.
“We got an anonymous tip regarding one of your employees,” Bobby began. “Piper Billings?”
Kelli frowned. “Piper’s a fantastic employee. I just promoted her to middle-manager.”
“It seems that she’s been involved in criminal dealings here on the island,” Bobby went on.
“What kind of criminal dealings?” Kelli demanded.
“We aren’t at liberty to reveal that at this time,” Bobby said. “Suffice it to say, we wouldn’t recommend that she remain here at the hotel. She seems dangerous.”
Kelli’s eyes widened. All she could think of was beautiful Piper, who treated all the guests with patience and kindness and genuinely kept Kelli above water when she struggled.
“That’s impossible,” Kelli suggested.
“It’s true, ma’am,” Tristan chimed in. “Piper Billings could possibly turn out to be the mastermind of a string of robberies across the island. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s currently figuring out new and creative ways to take from this very hotel.”
Kelli’s heartbeat quickened. How was this possible? Hadn’t she looked at every background check herself? Hadn’t she and Piper just swapped recipes that morning, laughing as the sunlight glittered through the two-story windows around the ballroom?
“Do you have proof?” Kelli asked.
Bobby nodded. “We’re gathering evidence against her and plan to make an arrest within the next few days.”
“But we wanted to give you a heads-up first,” Tristan explained. “This hotel’s success is important to the island. We don’t want some wayward criminal making a mess of things.”
Kelli couldn’t breathe. “I just promoted her. I just gave her the master key!”
“I would take that away from her as quickly as you can,” Tristan urged her.
“We can stay right here until then,” Bobby said.
“I don’t know. I don’t want her to feel like I’m accusing her of anything yet,” Kelli said. “If she walks into my office and two cops are behind my desk, she’ll…” Kelli trailed off, embarrassed of what she wanted to say. In truth, she just didn’t want Piper to hate her. A part of her heart still considered Piper a friend.
“We could step into the closet,” Bobby said, glancing at the door to the right of Kelli’s desk. “Just in case things go south.”
Kelli nodded, feeling at a loss. Just hours ago, she’d figured out how to delegate— and she’d managed to delegate to a wanted criminal. How could she have gotten it so wrong?
After the officers were safely concealed in her closet, Kelli texted Piper to say she needed to see her in her office. Xander wanted to stay, but Kelli shooed him out, saying that it would look strange with both of them there. “Go! Eat the salmon. Someone has to.”
“I’ll wait for you,” Xander said before he disappeared.
When Piper breezed through the door, her ponytail bounced, and she chatted excitedly about Miss Jennings, the old woman from Room 401 who hadn’t been able to stop complaining since her arrival the previous weekend.
“I just don’t know why she wants to stay here a day more. You would have thought she was in prison or something,” Piper said.
Kelli took a deep breath. How could Piper act so flippantly? Was this her way of manipulating her?
“Piper, I’m sorry to do this, but I have to let you go.” Kelli pressed her lips together but continued to stare Piper in the eye. She wanted to be respectful in some way, even as she fired this young woman.
Immediately, Piper’s face crumpled. She let out a small laugh, then asked, “Are you joking?”
Kelli bristled. She watched the young woman go through many stages of fear, then acceptance before she collapsed in the chair across from the desk. “Did I do something wrong?” Piper’s voice was so frail, without any of the peppiness she normally offered the hotel guests.
“Do you have your master key? I would like that immediately.” Kelli placed both of her hands on her desk and blinked at Piper, trying not to evoke any emotion, even as her heart shattered in her chest.
Piper’s hand shook as she removed her key from her pocket and placed it on the desk. She looked completely at a loss.
“Please, Kelli. As a friend. Just tell me what I did, so that I won’t do it again at the next place. It’s the least you can do.”
But Kelli had very little information from the officers. More than that, it was difficult for her to imagine Piper stealing anything, not even a packet of chewing gum. Maybe this was the genius of Piper. Maybe she understood she could get away with anything because she was friendly and beautiful and young.
“Please, go to the break room, get your things, and leave as quickly as possible,” Kelli said. “Your payment should be transferred to your account by the end of the month. I wish you luck in your future endeavors.”
Piper gaped at her for a long moment, then stood in a huff and walked out the door, looking like a wounded animal. After the door was closed safely behind her, Kelli placed her face in her hands and allowed herself to cry. She’d forgotten that the officers were watching her on the other side of the door. When they revealed themselves, she tidied herself up and shook their hands, saying, “Thank you for your diligent work. This is my first week as a hotel manager, and I can already tell I’m making about a thousand mistakes per day.”
“It’ll get easier,” Bobby assured her. “Especially now that you have that criminal out of your midst.”
After Bobby and Tristan walked downstairs, already muttering about their plans to arrest Piper officially over the next few days, Kelli rubbed her temples and eventually got up the nerve to text Sandra, the only other person in the hotel who needed to know about Piper.
Sandra arrived a few minutes later, bright and cheery, her cheeks like apples. “I was just in Miss Jennings’ room,” she explained as she sat across from Kelli and crossed her ankles. “That woman just doesn’t know how to have a good time, does she? I want to ask her, ‘Have you seen how beautiful this room is? Have you even bothered to look at it?’” Sandra chuckled adorably.
Kelli struggled to match Sandra’s enthusiasm. It occurred to her, now, that she’d never fired anyone before, and it had felt a bit like punching herself in the face.
“What’s wrong, Kelli?” Sandra’s face transformed. “You look a bit sick.”
“I wanted to let you know first-thing that I’ve had to let Piper go,” Kelli explained.
Sandra’s face now matched Kelli’s stricken feeling. “Are you serious? What happened!”
“The police came to let me know they suspect she’s been involved in criminal activity across the island. They’re preparing to arrest her over the next few days,” she said.
“Piper?” Sandra’s eyes widened with shock. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Kelli raised her shoulders. “All we can do is press forward as we have been, but without the help of Piper.”
“But you just gave Piper that middle-manager position,” Sandra said softly. “You were just having dinner downstairs with Xander!”
Kelli now felt that the dinner with Xander had been a part of a dream, and she’d awoken to return to the frantic nightmare of her life. “I’ll hire someone to fill Piper’s position soon. In the meantime, it’ll just be you and I keeping this hotel afloat. Remember that this weekend is my cousin’s daughter’s wedding, which will be a doozy. She has over two hundred guests coming, most of whom are staying at the hotel itself. Decorations, cake, food, and so much more will be arriving on a crazy-looking schedule that my sister, the wedding planner, just sent me via email. Maybe I can forward the email to you?”
Sandra set her jaw, her eyes stormy and serious. “Send it my way. I’ll be here as much as you need me, Kelli. I promise you that we will get through this. Together.”
Kelli blinked back tears, telling herself to believe in Sandra’s fortitude. She then reached for Piper’s master key and passed it across the desk to Sandra, who held it, glinting, in her right hand.
“You’ll need this,” Kelli told her. “Like I told Piper earlier today, it opens every single door in the entire hotel. Do not lose it. It’s important that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”
“I’ll trust it with my life,” Sandra assured her. “Thank you for this opportunity, Kelli. I won’t let you down.”